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Vatteluttu
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<p><i>Vatteluttu</i> , also transliterated as <i>Vattezhuthu</i>, was an alphasyllabic or syllabic writing system of <a href="/facts/South_India/XqkE3NdU">south India</a> (<a href="/facts/Tamil_Nadu/ouqcjUKE">Tamil Nadu</a> and <a href="/facts/Kerala/DMP5u40q">Kerala</a>) and <a href="/facts/Sri_Lanka/VtTBmysE">Sri Lanka</a> formerly employed for writing the <a href="/facts/Tamil_language/7I0lHL0d">Tamil</a> and <a href="/facts/Malayalam/YLuvDWd3">Malayalam languages</a>. The script is a sister system of the <a href="/facts/Pallava_script/Lvu7cmIX">Pallava-Chola alphabet</a>. The script was patronized by the <a href="/facts/Pallava_dynasty/wyt798s7">Pallava</a>, <a href="/facts/Pandya_dynasty/W0alsFor">Pandya</a> and Chera rulers of southern India. </p><p><i>Vatteluttu</i> belonged to the "southern group" of <a href="/facts/Brahmi_script/Bflxwzu6">Brahmi</a> derivatives (<a href="/facts/Brahmi_script/Bflxwzu6">Southern Brahmi</a>, generally associated with <a href="/facts/Dravidian_languages/s8pMU64e">Dravidian languages</a> of south India). The script was used in inscriptions and manuscripts of south India for centuries. It is closely related to the <a href="/facts/Tamil_script/QAEV8dJ5">Tamil script</a> (although it is more cursive than the Tamil script, with letters with a single curvilinear stroke). The direction of writing in <i>Vatteluttu</i> is from left to right. It notably omits the <a href="/facts/Virama/bRRVW2yT">virama</a> vowel muting device. </p>